Dear Friends,

As Jews in Israel and throughout the world prepare to celebrate the Passover holiday, we recall the Jewish people’s enslavement in Egypt, the formative experience in the life of our people. The experience of our ancestors as a minority culture in Egypt, however, is a message that we are meant to carry with us throughout the year, as we are told in the book of Deuteronomy (10:19): "And you must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."

As we approach Passover this year, IDI is proud to announce the publication of The Status of Minorities in the Jewish State: Halakhic Aspects, a position paper written by Dr. Eliezer Hadad, supervised by Professor Yedidia Z. Stern. This publication focuses on traditional Jewish approaches to the status of non-Jews residing among Jews, a topic of growing importance as we navigate the seventh decade of Jewish political sovereignty.

Whether before Passover or after, we invite you to read the English abstract of this publication, which summarizes the various approaches to the ger toshav – the foreign resident – within Jewish tradition.  In the meantime, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family joyous and meaningful holidays.

Warm regards from Jerusalem,

Arye Carmon
President, IDI